This Halloween Chex Mix Muddy Buddies recipe is chock-full of chocolatey goodness – a little salty, a lot of sweet, with crunchy and chewy textures in each handful thanks to the addition of pumpkin spice pretzels, pumpkin spice M&M’s, chopped Oreos, and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
Halloween Chex Mix Muddy Buddies
Muddy Buddies is one of our favorite, go-to treats for the holidays when we want something sweet and crunchy. This is not an everyday snack by any means because of the sugar content, but a special treat we make a few times a year for Halloween and Christmas. I’ve called this Monster Munch for my kids and that’s how they ask for it.
When it comes to Halloween, it’s fun to play off the colors and flavors of the holiday – orange, black, and white.
I also gave mine a pumpkin spice flavor with the addition of the new Signature Farms pumpkin spice yogurt covered pretzels that are a new addition at Safeway as well as seasonal pumpkin spice M&M’s. If you are not a pumpkin spice fan, you can simply use regular pretzels and your favorite candies, but it is fun to play off the Halloween colors.
Take advantage of sales at Safeway on Chex Cereal ($1.47), M&M’s candies ($3.00), Signature Farms Yogurt Covered Pretzels, and Signature Kitchens baking chips to make this dessert for Halloween.
Ingredients in Chex Mix Muddy Buddies
- original Rice Chex and Chocolate Chex
- semisweet chocolate chips
- peanut butter
- butter
- vanilla extract
- Signature Farms Pumpkin Spice Yogurt covered pretzels, or plain mini pretzels, slightly crushed
- pumpkin spice M&M’s
- OREO cookies
- mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- powdered sugar
How to Make Halloween Chex Mix Muddy Buddies
- Pour the Chex cereal onto a large rimmed baking sheet and set it aside.
- In a microwave-proof bowl, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Microwave for 30-90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex cereal and gently stir/toss to coat, trying not to crush the cereal.
- Pour the Chex cereal into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and add the powdered sugar. Seal the bag and shake to evenly coat all of the cereal.
- Spread the cereal out on parchment paper to let the chocolate firm up a bit, for about 20 minutes.
- Chop the pretzels, OREO’s, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Combine the cereal with the pretzel pieces, M&M’s, Oreo pieces, and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
- Store in an air-tight container.
I have found it’s easiest to spread the Chex cereal onto a rimmed baking sheet and then pour the melted chocolate peanut butter mixture over it and gently toss it together to coat.
Just be gentle with the muddy buddies as you are stirring things together so you don’t crush the cereal too much. I find it’s easiest to use a rubber spatula to just toss the ingredients together on the baking sheet.
The powdered sugar from the cereal base will lightly coat the other mix-ins so if you really want a pop of color contrast, keep a handful of M&M’s, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and chopped Oreos in reserve to toss over the top just before serving.
You can see I also added some candy eyes, which I found in the baking section of my local Safeway. They add a touch of fun for kids!
Serving Suggestion for Parties
If you are making this for a party, you can pick up some cute festive baking cups and measure out a 1/2 cup of Monster Munch in each baking cup.
This helps keep sticky hands out of the communal bowl. While I always serve the Muddy Buddies with a spoon, kids inevitably avoid the spoon and tend to just dig in.
Halloween Chex Mix Muddy Buddies
Ingredients
- 9 cups Rice Chex
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups Signature Farms pumpkin spice pretzels, or plain pretzels slightly crushed
- 1 1/2 cups Halloween M&M's or candy corn
- 1 1/2 cups OREO cookies chopped into quarters
- 1 1/2 cups Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups cut into quarters
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Pour the Chex cereal onto large rimmed baking sheet and set it aside.
- In a microwave-proof bowl, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Microwave for 30-90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex cereal and gently stir/toss to coat, trying not to crush the cereal.
- Pour the Chex cereal into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and add the powdered sugar. Seal the bag and shake to evenly coat all of the cereal.
- Spread the cereal out on parchment paper to let the chocolate firm up a bit, for about 20 minutes.
- Combine the cereal with the pretzel pieces, M&M's, Oreo pieces, and Reese's peanut butter cups.
- Store in an air-tight container.
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